1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to start-up control of a computer apparatus such as a personal computer connected with an external device such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) device, and more particularly, to a computer apparatus, a start-up controlling method, and a start-up controlling program that monitor a start-up failure of BIOS (Basic Input Output System), etc. to avoid an abnormality of start-up, and to a computer readable storage medium having embodied therein the start-up controlling program.
2. Description of the Related Art
A personal computer is connected with external devices such as USB devices to realize various functions. If it is recognized that a start-up failure occurs due to a connected USB device at the time of start-up, the connected USB device is removed once and, after OS (operating system) is started in the computer, the USB device to be used is connected again.
With regard to a countermeasure to such a start-up failure, a prior art includes Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 1994-266573; in a system disclosed there, an end code and a preceding end code are read from a non-volatile memory in the case of a restart process; when the possibility information of the end code instructs restarting, the two end codes are compared; and when failures are identical and the recording date and time thereof is not the same, the latest end code is updated to the preceding end code to restart the service of OS (paragraph Nos. 0022, 0029 to 0039, FIGS. 3 and 4, etc.). In a system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-215399, a priority is determined for a plurality of storage apparatuses storing OS; the storage apparatuses are investigated in the order of the priority; and the OS stored in the storage device with the highest priority is started among the normal storage apparatuses (paragraph Nos. 0013, 0014, FIGS. 1 and 2, etc.). In an information processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-196261, device model information is acquired which indicates a model of a process target device; device control information is generated from the acquired device model information; and the device control information is used for the management information.
Although countermeasures can be taken with the use of BIOS when abnormalities such as start-up failures are found in connection tests of various USB devices performed at the time of product shipment, compliance with the USB device will be revealed later in a new product that has been shipped. In such a case, a countermeasure may be taken for the USB device with problems by updating the BIOS, for example.
If an abnormality is generated when starting a computer apparatus connected with an external device, the cause of the abnormality is difficult to be known and a user will attempt to restart first. If the same start-up failure occurs when restarting, it is difficult to take measures and, normally, the next operation cannot be initiated.
In a countermeasure for a start-up failure generated when an arbitrary USB device is connected, if the abnormality is generated even when the USB device is removed once for restart, update of BIOS may be needed after attempting to avoid the problem with the BIOS.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication Nos. 1994-266573, 2002-215399, and 2005-196261 do not indicate or disclose such problems and do not indicate or describe means for solving the problems.